The subject matter disclosed herein relates to synchronizing two power supplies by matching their electrical parameters.
In a power plant, for example, the generator must be synchronized with the electrical grid before operating breakers to physically connect the generator to the grid. Specifically, four parameters—voltage, frequency, phase difference, and phase sequence—must match between the two sides for successful synchronization. The controller making a determination of when to close the breaker to connect the generator to the grid will see a mismatch when the potential transformers on the generator side and the potential transformer on the grid side are not wired consistently at the controller. Because the controller assumes that the wiring is correct, any mismatch will lead the controller to instruct the turbine governor to increase the speed in order to bring the phase difference to zero. Thus, when a phase difference is the result of wiring error rather than a mismatch of parameters, the controller can cause severe damage to plant systems including the generator, breaker, and transformer.